Painting Australia's finest passenger ship

The P&O Company lost 182 vessels during World War II, and began rebuilding its passenger fleet in 1946 with the order of the SS Himalaya. Built by Vickers Armstrong at Barrow-in-Furness, England, Himalaya accommodated 758 first-class passengers in 443 cabins, and 401 tourist-class passengers in 147 cabins. They were serviced by a crew of 572. Designed to be the finest passenger ship on the Australian trade, Himalaya reduced the voyage time from the United Kingdom to Melbourne from 38 days to 28. She was also the first liner to be equipped with a plant for distilling fresh water from seawater. Himalaya sailed her maiden voyage on October 6, 1949, and remained in service until October 19, 1974. Respected Australian photojournalist David Moore captured these seamen repainting her hull from a fragile plank support in 1950, admiring their "acrobatic balance and dexterity". (Australian National Maritime Museum/Flickr)